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Gravity

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  1. Im sure of one thing if he done it to me it would be the first after the latter had occurred ! It is unexcusable to leave an accident let alone fly after a prop strike ! But the horror that he damaged someones goods and took off literally after refueling ! Hope they throw the book at him with a few rotton tomatoes as well ! A disgracefull act and would be hard to excuse this kind of behaviour !

    What would fighting him prove? He's obviously not making or in this case made a responsible decision but fighting him would also be irresponsible.

     

     

  2. If I've used the right calculators, a new C172P cost $34,000USD brand new in 1981. According to the RBA, the exchange rate was 91.75c/USD in 1983, which I've used as the conversion rate, so a new P-model would have cost $37,000AUD (I haven't updated the purchase price from '81-83 to give the benefit of the doubt to the Cessna...). Australian inflation since then works out to 214% or from $37000 ->$116,000AUD for a brand-new C172, excluding GST and import duties...According to several articles, you could buy a house for a smidgen over $80,000 in the early '80's, with an average annual income of $21,000, or a roughly 4:1 price/income ratio. In 2015 the average Sydney house price is now over $900K with an income of $78,000, or an 11.5:1 ratio. Based on a $37,000 172 and a $21,000 salary, a new 172 these days "should" cost around $137,000 AUD. The lack of disposable income - a direct result of rampant housing & cost-of-living increases - means most working people simply cannot afford luxuries like flying - particularly on an average salary around $80,000. It is only when you've been able to pay off your mortgage are you likely to be able to afford such luxuries.

     

    Excellent detective work thereMost in the GA industry know that GA is stuffed, CASA and a few other factors like you mentioned are responsible for the decline!

     

     

    • Agree 1
  3. I have flown from North of Benalla for 15 years and learned that what is at ground level can be +90 degrees different by only +300 ft elevation. This is especially true when cold easterlies come off the alps. A fleeting glimpse of the sock is important. Drift on different approach legs should give a bit of an idea but it is not a certainty.

    Is that Jims strip you are talking about Nth of Benalla?

     

     

  4. Am I the only person without a mobile phone?...My wife has a mobile phone but it doesn`t often get used, it sits in the glove compartment of our car, in case of an emergency when we`re out driving.Fantastic device and it certainly is a benefit to society in many ways! Like a lot of things, it comes down to how the individual chooses to use it.

     

    Police officer’s leg amputated after crash in western Sydney

     

    Frank.

    "..........am I the only person without a mobile phone?..... "....... YEP!003_cheezy_grin.gif.c5a94fc2937f61b556d8146a1bc97ef8.gif

     

     

    • Like 1
  5. The graph shows aircraft movement per year at Moorabbin.Year 1 is 1989, about the last of the heyday of the Schutt, Civil Flying Services era.

    Years 2 onwards are the yearly figures from 2007

     

    These show the impact of Jetstar/Virgin/Tiger etc. where flying by RPT then Hire Car was a fraction of the cost of Charter, and often faster, followed by a very stable set of years at around the current level.

     

    Contrasting this is the explosive expansion of private and charter operations to the mining areas, where 45 passenger luxury coaches drive around town picking up passengers.

     

    GA is alive and well, just in areas we don't normally see.

     

    [ATTACH=full]53994[/ATTACH]

    GA alive and well? 40 yrs of driving planes for me mostly commercially, trust me GA is finished as we know it!!

     

     

    • Agree 1
  6. Flying into a strip without a windsock shouldn't be too hard.It is very easy if you have a gps so there is a groundspeed/airspeed comparison but even without that a 15 knot wind should be easy enough to notice.

     

    I have noticed in my limited flying time it is quite common for winds at ground level to be at 180 degrees to winds at circuit height. A low level precautionary check pass at a place without a sock would be prudent.

     

    While we always say you can always go around there comes a point at some strips when going around is a no go.

    I disagree. Using a GPS only for gauging wind speed is not advisable. It's not just the speed of the wind a sock shows its direction and variations in wind strengths via the very nature of the sock moving about especially in gusting conditions. It would be fool hardy to make that judgement on indicated speed verses a GPS speed only.

     

     

  7. In-House training has the potential to affect the viability of the GA recreational and charter scene.It would be interesting to know why they abandoned the flying schools around the country, and whether they will even start student pilots off on today's light aircraft.

    There's nothing to abandon anymore, GA charter is all but dead, has been for sometime. The traditional route to heavy metal these days will cease to exist altogether in the not too distant future thanks to our wonderful CASA!!

     

    With the MPL concept traditional training will be a thing of the past.

     

     

  8. I don’t think the Bellanca 8KCAB had selectable tanks. Certainly the modern versions, the American Champion Super Decathlon and Scouts manage twin overhead tanks without selectable tanks, just a shutoff valve.

    I guess my comments could be read that way, it was more ref to the twin overhead tanks with the Cessna type being selectable.

     

     

  9. Sadly the passenger died. Oshkosh a few years ago.

    Oh that's just awful, can't imagine what those involved went thru after that accident. Flying is risky, we each elevate the risk factor as soon as we push our planes out of the hangar

     

    ya know what, I always thought that a tail dragger with a forward vision problem would benefit significantly by having a little camera mounted under the nose of the aircraftyou could feed the video back to a drop down tablet for reference while on the ground, and then fold it up and record the flight onto the tablet for future viewing - it ain't rocket surgery, folks...

    this stuff is available for FPV options for drones and does not cost a lot, and it's not all that difficult to set up...after a few grubs were seen checking out houses in our street I popped a camera inside my letterbox that transmits to the house for under $50 - records vehicle details and number plates perfectly and nobody even knows it's there...

     

    BP

    ya know what, I always thought that a tail dragger with a forward vision problem would benefit significantly by having a little camera mounted under the nose of the aircraftyou could feed the video back to a drop down tablet for reference while on the ground, and then fold it up and record the flight onto the tablet for future viewing - it ain't rocket surgery, folks...

    this stuff is available for FPV options for drones and does not cost a lot, and it's not all that difficult to set up...after a few grubs were seen checking out houses in our street I popped a camera inside my letterbox that transmits to the house for under $50 - records vehicle details and number plates perfectly and nobody even knows it's there...

     

    BP

    I have just that, a camera mounted under the plane with a small screen on the inst panel. I don't look at it too much as it could have the reverse effect, distracting.

     

     

    • Like 1
  10. May not have been due to any carby effect of the negative G's in the reported pushover. May have been due to 'unporting' in the fuel tank outlets - especially if the tanks were low on contents. However, the wreckage carried a strong fire, so there must have been some quantity of fuel remaining.I've flown a large number of C180s and, because I always select BOTH ON with fuel - very few of them drain fuel out evenly. Try as one may at holding perfect balance, it seems that one tank will drain ahead of the other - L usually. Once the 'usable' fuel is drained down to the 'unusable' level, the fuel port is close to exposed and air could get into the fuel lines. Unporting due to negative G might create this situation - even with usable fuel remaining in the tank.

     

    With the fuel selector set on L or R tank, the unporting, (of the tank in use), could happen while the aircraft still had adequate flight fuel on board. In which case, the aircraft engine could suffer temporary/intermittent fuel flow, which could be critical if flying low, as this aircraft was reported. I'd be very interested if the NTSB had published where the fuel tank selector was set.

     

    As a warning to Aussie pilots, if you have been taught to always select C100 series aircraft fuel to L or R, instead of BOTH, then go and read the POH. You'll find that it says - fly on BOTH unless you have a damned good reason not to. I have seen so many 'Pilot Notes' which say to fly on one or the other and time your use. Yes, time your use, but don't fiddle with the fuel tank selector!!

     

    If your Cessna 100 series tanks don't drain evenly: (1) learn to fly in balance (2) adjust the tank vents

     

    Explanation: The fuel tank selector handle is locked with a pin/screw arrangement onto the vertical shaft, which gradually bells out, and you can feel the sloppiness in the handle. The ports in the selector body are only open for a few degrees, and for them to be fully open - the selector must click into the relevant detent. No click = not full fuel flow. Failing to get the selector to click into the detent can, and has, caused fuel flow interruption and a forced landing. Therefore - don't rely on your visual check that the selector is pointing towards the desired position - turn until the detent is felt, regardless of the selector indicator being as much as 10 degrees 'away' Fuel selectors come as a complete unit and cost a 4 figure number - as you'd expect with Certified aircraft.

    Whilst unporting was possible I doubt it, there would be enough fuel from the pick up point of the tank/s to the carby plus the carby bowl contents to run the engine during any short term neg pushover.

     

    Most aircraft with twin tanks overhead such as Cessna, Belanca etc rarely drain evenly that's one of the reasons why they are selectable to balance as required

     

     

  11. Ok, the latest episode entertained the possibility of fuel cavitation & subsequent engine faltering following a sudden 45 degree climb and levelling out manoeuvre (occurring in the float chamber, I’m assuming?)I can understand such cavitation from a vibration at just the right frequency, but I’m not sure I understand how low or zero g leads to such cavitation.

    Can anyone clarify how that happens?

    Probably pushed it over rather abruptly causing neg G's, been done before many a time.

     

     

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